Insourcing library outreach: Engaging technical services in outreach to student organizations

Abstract

In recent years, library outreach has become an increasingly important aspect of public services work. In order to expand capacity and engage patrons, libraries should consider expanding their library outreach programs to include the efforts and expertise of technical services personnel. In this article, librarians from Texas A&M University will share how public services librarians, cataloging experts, and preservation librarians collaborated to provide support for a student-led textbook lending library for student veterans. Through this collaboration, the library was able to develop new outreach opportunities that highlighted technical services expertise as well as lend support to an important campus effort to improve the affordability of college textbooks for veterans.

Keywords:

• Library outreach
• preservation
• student veterans
• technical services
• textbooks

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to our Aggie Shields collaborators, Andre Juarez, Caitlin Meyer, and Patrick Creighton, and to the TAMU Libraries personnel, past and present, who worked to support Aggie Shields, including Lisa Furubotten, Zonia Prado, Kristen Hartman, and Joseph Olivarez. We would also like to thank Jennifer Wilhelm, Kathy Anders, and Sean Buckner for their feedback on a draft of this article.